Ja'Tavion

Sanders

Sanders reeled in his first career touchdown on a five-yard strike from Bryce Young in the first quarter. He got the bulk of the reps at tight end once again with Tommy Tremble out and Ian Thomas leaving this game early with an injury. Sanders should continue to dominate the routes for Carolina coming out of their Week 11 bye, even if the other tight ends get healthy. With Bryce Young likely to get another start, Sanders will be stuck in the TE2 ranks for Week 12.

Sanders was back in action on Friday, practicing in full with the rest of his Panthers’ teammates. The enticing rookie tight end is averaging 2.43 yards per route run over the last three weeks and the Giants’ tight end-coverage unit is among the league’s worst. He is firmly on the streaming TE1 radar.

Sanders was listed with a late-October ankle injury but was reportedly injury-free last week. He returns to the injury report, now with both a wrist and ankle listing, jeopardizing his Week 10 availability. Sanders has been a fringe TE1/2 in three of the past four games and is firmly on streaming radars with David Njoku, Brock Bowers, Tucker Kraft and Noah Fant all on bye. He is a TE1, if active but he is not guaranteed to suit up.

Sanders also drew a 22-yard DPI. His 46-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter was one of the Panthers’ plays of the day, and helped set up a touchdown. Fourth-rounder Sanders has continued to come on for a team in evaluation mode, and with Diontae Johnson gone and a few other players maybe likely to follow, Sanders could become a mainstay in the top 20 at tight end. TE1 will probably be too much to ask with Bryce Young/Andy Dalton at the controls.

Tremble was listed as questionable with a back injury, but won’t be able to go against the New Orleans defense. That should lead to more snaps — and hopefully more targets — for Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Sanders not only had one target, but it didn’t occur until there was 43 seconds left in the game. The rookie tight end did come in as an injury question mark, but it’s certainly worth noting that he’s had much more chemistry with Andy Dalton than Bryce Young. Tommy Tremble had just two catches for 12 yards, so neither tight end exactly lit up the scoreboard in the two-score loss. Sanders will be a high-risk TE2 in Week 9 against the Saints, and fantasy managers who roster him may need Dalton to be back in order to put him in the lineup.

Sanders has been limited in both practices to start the week and should have a good shot at suiting up on Sunday against the Broncos. The rookie tight end has been solid as of late, catching 11 passes for 110 yards in his last two games. That said, Bryce Young will be under center for the Panthers in Week 8, and they get a challenging matchup against the Broncos. Sanders profiles as a volatile TE2 who is likely best left on the bench even if active.

The rookie tight end finished as the PPR TE14 and TE12 over the last two weeks, his workload ramping up after a slow start to the season. While Sanders may return to the TE2 ranks with Bryce Young under center, hopefully, Sanders can continue practicing and improving his play.

Sanders has now totaled 110 yards on 11 receptions over the last two weeks. His six targets led all Panthers players in Sunday’s defeat, as he’s now seen five or more targets in three-straight games. The Panthers receiving corps is thin behind Diontae Johnson. Sanders’ recent target volume puts him on the boom-or-bust TE2 radar in Week 8 against the Broncos.

The rookie Sanders saw his highest usage of the season in Week 6 with Tommy Tremble (concussion) out and Ian Thomas returning to no catches on three targets. Sanders will be the lead tight end for the Panthers, though more games of heavy usage will need to be seen to make him a consistent fantasy player. Facing a struggling Commanders defense in Week 7, Sanders is worth a play as a streamer tight end.